AN ARTICLE FROM THE BASEBALL MAGAZINE:JULY

ONEMOREINNING

 

THE CRAB NOBODY KNOWS

 

Q: NAME THE ONLY BATTERS WHO HIT OVER .400 THREE TIMES IN THEIR CAREERS?

A: WELL LET’S SEE. THERE WAS TY COBB…AND THE OTHER GUY WAS, MAYBE RUTH OR   

     HORNSBY.

Q: RUTH NEVER HIT.400. COBB AND HORNSBY DID. THERE WAS ONE MORE. CAN YOU

     NAME HIM?

A: ONE MORE HUH. THAT SHOULDN’T BE HARD. HOW ABOUT HONUS WAGNER?

Q: NOPE.

A: IT WASN’T WAGNER? WELL THEN IT WAS PROBABLY BILL TERRY OR TRIS SPEAKER OR

     PROBABLY TED WILLIAMS

Q: NOPE.

A: NO? LET ME THINK FOR A MOMENT…HOW ABOUT, WHAT’S HIS NAME…..THAT

FRENCHMAN, NAPOLEON La JOIE?

Q: GOOD GUESS, BUT IT WASN’T HIM. IT WAS JESSE BURKETT.

A: WHO? I NEVER HEARD OF HIM. HE’S NOT EVEN IN THE HALL OF FAME FOR GOD’S SAKE.

Q: YOU’RE RIGHT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF HIM AND YOU’RE WRONG, HE WAS VOTED

     INTO THE HALL OF FAME IN 1946.

 A: WELL IMAGINE THAT. JESSE BURKETT. YOU DON’T HEAR TOO MUCH ABOUT HIM.

  

    Not only did Jesse Burkett hit over .400 three times in his career, he had a lifetime average of.341. One of the forgotten men of baseball, he had as his nickname, “THE CRAB.” Besides hitting, nastiness seemed to be his forte. Belligerent, ill tempered, Jesse Burkett managed to insult and foul-mouth most people he came in contact with.  When he coached for the Giants the players did not vote him a share of the World Series money. Rumor has it that manger John McGraw gave him money from his own pocket.

   Whatever he was as a man pales beside his accomplishments on the baseball field. Batting left handed, standing 5’8” and weighing just 155 pounds, he was a terror as a hitter. His line drives would come whizzing by like a rocket. He would invariably beat out bunts because of his amazing speed. He was so good at fouling off pitches, that a rule was introduced making fouls, strikes. He led the league in batting average in 1895, ’96 and ’01. Playing in 2,063 games he hit .341, had 95 RBI, and belted 75 HR. The HR total was quite impressive because this was the dead ball era. He hit over .300 eleven times in his sixteen seasons in the majors. He played for five different teams, (Giants, Cleveland Spiders, Cards, Browns, and Red Sox) and I imagine his acerbic personality had some thing to do with that number.

   After his career was over he managed several Minor League clubs. I could imagine what sort of rapport he had with his players. He died in 1953 at the ripe old age of 85 after seeing himself elected into the Hall Of Fame in 1946. A forgotten man indeed, but a very great ballplayer.